Currently, vertical take-up systems for spring steel wire consist of a moveable platform on which a turntable is mounted. A carrier for receiving wire is placed on the turntable, with the centreline of the carrier located directly below a horizontal take-up block on the same vertical centreline. When the carrier is full, the wire is cut and the platform is moved to allow unloading of the full carrier and the placement of an empty one. During the changeover, the line is not stopped, which means that the length of wire produced during the changeover cycle must be scrapped.
Prior to the present development, sidewinder horizontal take-up blocks were used for oil-tempered spring steel wire. Sidewinder take-ups, representing a technology more than 80 years old, require great physical strength and exertion on the part of the operator, and are limited to small coil weights (&lt;2,000 lbs.). The density of the finished coil is variable, depending upon the skill and strength of the operator. Wire breaks during take-up can result in serious injury to workers (and anyone standing close by) because the broken spring steel wire tends to fly off the block at high speed, and has extremely sharp edges.